The International Space Station (ISS) hangs over the Ionian Sea, some 205 miles (330 kilometers) below.

This view, looking north-easterly and obliquely at the Earth from the departing space shuttle Endeavour, also shows Italy's "heel" and "toe" at the lower left. Albania is directly above the ISS in this image, while Greece is to its right. Further up on the right-hand side is the Aegean Sea, and above it, on the horizon, the Black Sea.

A crew member of the space shuttle Endeavour took this image of the International Space Station during the STS118 mission, on August 19, 2007. The image looks back through one of the crew cabin windowsover the length of the shuttle Endeavour.

The sensor head of the Orbiter Boom Sensor System juts into the image at top left, while the shuttle's rudder dimly appears at top center.

--NASA’s Earth Observatory and SPACE.com Staff

Credit:NASA